Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 133: The Two Myths

’Myth of the world’s creation? I do vaguely remember it. But...’

When Adrian had just reincarnated, things were not the way they were now. Back then, everything was new and unfamiliar. At that time, he had been extremely desperate. And perhaps that desperation had made him reckless too.

He had tried to learn this world’s language as soon as he could. And instead of hiding that fact as a precaution, he openly demonstrated it so that he could gain access to the library as soon as possible.

Back then, he was too much in a hurry to worry about the fact that his abnormality could make people suspicious of him.

’I wish I had been more cautious back then. If I had, perhaps I wouldn’t have had to go through those tests from Mother.’

Anyways, the point here was that even though he had briefly come across the myth of this world’s creation, he had not properly read it since his only focus back then had been to filter out irrelevant knowledge and find information that could’ve been useful to him in his situation.

Adrian shook his head.

"I briefly encountered it in one of the texts related to the church, but I did not pay much attention to it, so I don’t fully remember it. All I know is that the lord was the one who created this world."

"I see." Ralz nodded. "Well, I will just tell you the myth. Now choose which version you want to hear first."

’Which version?’

"What do you mean by which version?" Adrian tilted his head. "Are you saying that there is more than one version?"

The vampire smiled and leaned back, looking at the cave’s ceiling.

"Indeed, there are two versions. One is mainly believed by the believers of the lord, while the other is believed by scholars and research societies. I believe the version believed by the believers of the lord is the one that’s the most prevalent in the empire. Still, people in the various research societies probably believe the scholar version. Now, which one do you want to hear first?"

Adrian answered after a brief moment of thought.

"Hmm... I would like to know the scholar version first."

He vaguely knew about the first one, but he had no clue about the second.

Ralz smiled and began speaking.

"It is called a myth, but it’s actually more of a theory. It states that in the beginning, all that existed was mana. There was nothing else besides it. At that time, there were only two elements present: the primordial light and the primordial darkness. Due to their opposing nature, the two concepts constantly clashed and repelled each other. But then an external force caused these two opposing forces to fuse together, and this was how the world was born."

"Wait," Adrian suddenly interjected. "What was the external force that caused the fusion of those two concepts?"

Ralz looked at him strangely.

"How would I know? It’s not like I was there to see the world’s creation."

Adrian was briefly dumbfounded and lost for words. Ralz continued speaking.

"As I said, it is a theory. Since those concepts had a totally opposing nature and repelled each other because of it, there had to be a reason that they fused. So that reason was called ’external pressure’ to make sense of things."

"I see." Adrian nodded at that explanation, prompting Ralz to continue.

"Where was I again? Oh, right! So the fusion of those two concepts caused the birth of all the elements that we know today. The concept of temperature, pressure, density, materialization, negativity, positivity, time, and space. And together, these concepts slowly formed the world that we live in today."

After giving Adrian some time to digest all the information, Ralz added.

"The scholars believe that The Lord is not some god but an extremely powerful individual who has climbed to the pinnacle of the mana ladder and transcended his own mortality, becoming a greater life form entirely."

’Hmm... it seems rather plausible.’

According to this ’myth,’ the world was created on its own, and thus it could have no god. He had not found any inconsistency, and it was logically sound.

On another note, it also answered why everything turns into mana when it’s broken down to its smallest unit. It is because everything is technically made of mana—according to this ’myth,’ at least.

Adrian turned his attention back to Ralz.

"Okay, now tell me the believer’s version of the myth."

Ralz nodded.

"Sure. That version goes something like this: In the beginning, there was no land, sky, or water. There was no sun, moon, or stars. Back then, all that existed was darkness, complete and utter darkness. And within that darkness existed a being of light. In his loneliness, the lord used his brilliance to shape the darkness and molded it into the world. He created the sky, the land, and the water. He created the sun, the moon, and the stars. But even after creating it all, the lord was still lonely."

The vampire paused briefly, then continued.

"In the end, he created life. As he began watching over them, the lord’s loneliness slowly faded. And now, the lord is no longer lonely because we are here to praise his magnificence."

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

’Hmm...’

Both myths were rather similar when compared side by side. It was just that the second myth had personified the primordial light. Adrian didn’t know which of the two was true. Still, he understood the point Ralz was trying to make.

If the first myth were true, then the existence of any god would not make sense. And if the second myth were true, then the existence of any other god besides the lord would not make sense.

Adrian let out a tired sigh.

’The more I know, the more unanswered questions continue to pile up.’

After that, Adrian stopped speaking and closed his eyes, choosing to rest his tired mind.

Days continued to pass as the same routine continued.

By the tenth day, the vampire allowed Adrian to move his body a bit. It was limited to lying down and sitting up. Still, something was better than nothing.

The speed of his recovery sped up greatly after that point. By the fifteenth day, nearly all the scars left behind by those cracks were gone. He could also move his body without any major discomfort.

At that point, Adrian even began to question whether he really needed to be treated for more than a few days.

But Ralz told him that it was risky to think that way since his body wasn’t actually being healed but instead being reversed to the time before it got those wounds. To ensure that Adrian was actually completely healed instead of simply appearing to have been healed, they would have to continue this treatment for a whole month, just as Ralz had told him in the beginning.

By day twenty, Adrian could move his body just like before without feeling anything more than mild discomfort.

And that discomfort also vanished by the twenty-fifth day. With only five more days left, Adrian decided to remain patient.

And on the thirtieth day, Ralz gave him the final treatment and smiled.

"Child, you are completely healed at this point. You can leave now."